Holiday Travel Guide: Puglia Part One

Last week the hubby and I took a lovely break down south in Puglia, Italy. We couldn’t have asked for more; the weather didn’t let us down, the food was sensational and the hospitality was ever so welcoming. If there is one thing I’ve learnt, is that in Puglia the people genuinely want you to have a good time and will go out of their way to please you and make sure you are fed – sounds good to me!

Here is a mini guide of the places we saw, stayed and ate… While it was only a short break we managed to drive around and see quite a bit. I’ve divided it into two parts as I didn’t want to over feed you with all of my images – Be warned there are a lot of pictures!

Masseria & Spa Luciagiovanni

We stayed at the Masseria & Spa Luciagiovanni, just outside Lecce. This beautiful resort boasts both the traditions of Salento and Northern Africa filled with Moorish interiors. It truly is a case of East meets West. While the interiors were dark and mysterious the outside pool was the perfect place to relax and unwind. The staff were super friendly and we couldn’t have asked for more during our stay.

The gorgeous pool at Masseria & Spa Luciagiovanni A perfect place to relax for cocktails in the evenings… Our private garden from our room at Masseria & Spa Luciagiovanni

Punta Prosciutto

If you’re looking for beautiful white sandy beaches then head to Punta Prosciutto, which is in the small seaside resort of Porto Cesareo. Expect to see sandy dunes and nothing but just a few buildings. It truly is paradise, crystal clear waters and long beaches, you can be forgiven for thinking you are in the carribean. It’s very rural and un-kept, which I think is its real beauty.

For lunch we were lucky enough to stumble into a small restaurant called L’Ancora – which looks more like a small cafè from the outside. We had the best meal here on the terrace overlooking the sea. It really was the perfect setting. Fresh fish at a fraction of the price and the staff were super friendly. If you are around in the area then I definitely recommend lunch or dinner here! It’s also a pizzeria if you don’t fancy fish.

The terrace at restaurant L’Ancora overlooking the sea at Punta Prosciutto Another view from the terrace at restaurant L’Ancora overlooking the sea at Punta Prosciutto

During our short stay in Puglia, we visited Lecce which is definitely a must do if you are nearby. Lecce is a historic city of 95,200 inhabitants and is the capital of the province of Lecce. Because of its rich Baroque architectural monuments, Lecce is commonly nicknamed “The Florence of the South”.

Lecce is also beautiful in the evening and if you’re looking for a lovely restaurant then I’d recommend Zio Pesce, slightly on the fancy side but definitely reasonable prices and the food there is amazing! Again this is a fish restaurant and very popular with the locals. If however fish is not your thing, then literally just around the corner they have another restaurant which is a steak house called Il Bacaro. And for all those pizza lovers – fear not, there’s plenty of pizzerias in the city centre.

A passerby who wanted to have his photo taken with me 🙂 Chiesa di S. Maria delle Grazie

Piazza del Duomo, Lecce

Porta Napoli Porta Napoli

I’ll be back next week with part two with lots more images from our day trips to Gallipoli and Santa Maria di Leuca.

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